Department for Communities and Local Government

Housing: Construction

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government is ensuring that programmes involving the regeneration of public land require a proportion of the new homes delivered to be accessible for disabled people.

Gavin Barwell: The Government is committed to addressing the supply of new land for housing. The Public Land for Housing programme has set an ambition to dispose of surplus government-owned land in England with capacity for at least 160,000 homes by 2020. And at Budget 2016 the Chancellor announced a local government land ambition to release land with the capacity for a further 160,000 homes.   Individual local planning authorities will decide the type and number of homes developed on the land released - including those for disabled people - in order to meet local need.   We have put in place new, flexible Building Regulations which allow local authorities to apply appropriate access standards for new homes to meet the needs of their communities while ensuring that development can happen. Building regulations require minimum standards of accessibility for all new dwellings. Local authorities are able to set policies for a proportion of new development to be built to higher standards of accessibility in order to meet local needs in accordance with national planning policy and guidance.   The Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently and safely in their own homes for as a long as possible. The Disabled Facilities Grant funds the provision of home adaptations (including stair lifts, level access showers and in some instances home extensions) to help older and disabled people to live as comfortably, safely and independently as possible in their own homes for longer. Since 2010 we have invested over a billion pounds into the grant providing around 250,000 adaptations to older and disabled people's homes in England.   Government is also boosting the supply of specialised housing through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund, with 79 schemes receiving more than £84.2 million to develop up to 2,000 affordable homes over the next few years.

Department for Education

Foreign Students: EU Countries

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to reassure university students that the outcome of the EU referendum will not prevent those students from studying abroad in Europe.

Joseph Johnson: There are no immediate changes following the EU Referendum, including in the circumstances of British citizens studying, or planning to study, in the EU. Future arrangements for studying abroad will need to be considered as part of wider discussions about the UK’s relationship with the EU.

Universities

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the outcome of the EU referendum on the long-term ability of universities to maintain current levels of educational provision; and if she will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: The UK has some of the best universities and researchers in the world, and international students, academics and researchers play a significant part in that success. The impacts of the decision to leave the EU on universities will depend on a number of factors including the timing of the UK’s exit from the EU and the details of our future relationship with the EU. Those are decisions for the new Prime Minister. The UK remains a member of the EU, and we continue to meet our obligations and receive relevant funding.

Students: Loans

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the proportion of student loan borrowers who took out their loan after 2012 who have read the contract terms contained in a separate online document.

Joseph Johnson: All borrowers applying for support must sign a declaration to confirm that they have read and understood the terms and conditions that apply to their loans.

Students: Loans

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has conducted an (a) impact and (b) equality assessment of the effect that freezing the student repayment threshold at £21,000 for five years will have on (i) low-income, (ii) women, (iii) BAME and (iv) disabled graduates; whether she plans to amend that threshold; and if she will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: The Department carried out an Equality Analysis in November 2015, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479559/bis-15-635-freezing-student-loan-repayment-threshold-equality-analysis.pdf. We have already announced that the threshold will be frozen for five years from April 2016, and it will be reviewed for April 2021, and we have no plans to change this.

Students: Loans

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to alter the terms and conditions of student loans for existing borrowers.

Joseph Johnson: My department has no current plans to alter the terms and conditions of student loans for existing borrowers.

Students: Hearing Impaired

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of sign language interpreters and electronic note takers registered with the Disabled Students Allowance Quality Assurance Group to provide support to deaf students from September 2016.

Joseph Johnson: The Department is currently working with Disabled Students’ Allowances Quality Assurance Group to review the number of support workers that have registered to provide each support role funded through Disabled Students’ Allowances. Organisations and individuals are continuing to register to provide these roles, so final figures are not yet available. We will not be able to confirm these numbers until the first DSA QAG audit cycle is completed (which will include an audit of staff details), in December 2017. The Student Loans Company will monitor any reports about the supply of non-medical support so as to identify whether there are any issues with their availability.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Biofuels

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to engage with (a) coal generators and (b) the biomass sector on whether a future biomass auction will take place.

Jesse Norman: We plan to hold the next Contracts for Difference allocation round in due course We will announce further details about the allocation round and engage with stakeholders in good time.

Energy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to encourage de-carbonisation of the UK energy market.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will now hold responsibility for climate change issues. We are taking action across the economy to encourage the decarbonisation of energy and last month we set the fifth carbon budget in law in line with the recommendations of the independent Committee on Climate Change.